Thread by @NoTeamsIndy

All assault claims MUST be heard, and it’s critical not to start with disbelief or victim blaming. But without evidence or witnesses, we must consider Reade’s credibility and Biden's patterns.

WARNING: if you’re fiercely pro- or anti-Biden, you won't like parts of this THREAD!

(This is a LONG thread, so I will append a link to the unrolled version at the end.)

First and foremost, whatever your belief on her claim, you should listen to Ms. Reade tell her story. If you are unwilling, you are not giving her claim fair consideration, just like those who refuse to test her credibility.

soundcloud.com/katie-halper/j…

1. Her story: there are inconsistencies, but it doesn’t necessarily invalidate a claim. For example, in 2009 (16 years after the alleged incident), she said she arrived in DC via plane, but in 2019 that she drove. This could just be misremembering, or conflating memories.

1. Inconsistencies on incident/firing: in 2009, said she left to follow spouse to new job, didn’t mention assault. Could be because it didn’t happen, or could be she wanted to avoid trauma of the memory. Not in politics in 2009, so not likely protecting professional prospects.

1. In 2019, says she was fired for refusing to serve drinks at a party (heard it was at Biden’s request), then “blacklisted.” Claims she filed a report with Congress, but no record found. Blamed his staff: “It’s not him,” and “did not even know if he realized why I left.”

Reporting from staff available here (all other quotes are from Reade's Medium articles, cited elsewhere in this thread):

washingtonpost.com/politics/forme…

1. *Contradicts* 2019 story in 2020 by claiming Biden “fired” her. NYT interviewed staff/aides in Biden’s office at the time, none of whom recall hearing about the alleged incident or her complaint, but two aides do remember her losing supervisory role around that time.

NYT article available here:

nytimes.com/2020/04/12/us/…

1. First public claim of assault (3/19/20) also contradicts 2019 story, when she said his touching her neck made her uncomfortable, but she didn’t feel sexualized, rather like a beautiful lamp (Union article, cited below).

1. In 2019 on Medium, wrote it was "not a story about sexual misconduct." Also published it on The Union (Nevada county, CA) in 2019. But Medium article NOW reads “this is not *only* a story about sexual misconduct.” She can still edit the Medium story, not The Union story.

(Edited) Medium article here:

medium.com/@AlexandraTara…

Union published version here:

theunion.com/opinion/column…

2019 Union interview cited below.

1. Again, perhaps she didn't claim assault in 2019 to protect herself from painful memory, or fearing slander by Biden’s supporters. As noted in this thread, we have seen some of this already, but again, it doesn’t account for the contradictions, and apparent *change* of story.

1. Says she told mother, brother, and friend in 1993. Mother dead, brother confirms but won’t talk to press, anonymous friend confirms it to NYT. This is corroboration, though possible familial loyalty makes his questionable, and unnamed person's credibility can't be examined.

1. On 4/9/20, Reade filed a police report claiming assault in 1993. However, she does not name Biden, or her brother or anonymous friend as corroborators. This is noteworthy, since doing so would make her legally vulnerable if her story on Biden is later found to be false.

1. Claims in 2020 she tried to tell assault story in 2019 interview w/The Union, but interviewer “shut [her] down." Possible, but unlikely, since declining a sensational story means less readers/money, and readership not likely pro-Biden (Bernie won the county by 13%).

1. Some claim Time’s Up declined to help, but that's not true. They referred her to several lawyers, who all declined her case (those who spoke to press say because she wasn’t suing Biden for harassment/assault, but to stop people from accusing her of being Russian agent).

This interview is from Salon:

salon.com/2020/03/31/a-w…

Reporting on Dunn from NYT.

2. “Pivot I”: Reade’s public comments on Biden shift dramatically in 2018. Before this, she praised his help for victims of domestic abuse, cancer research, and even his efforts to combat sexual assault.

2. In 2018, pivots to harsh criticism, calling him “Blue Trump,” shopping critical stories to various outlets, including *Trump White House*

People change minds on politicians for many reasons, and past support may have been just to support issues, so let's consider context.

Here is Reade's "Blue Trump" article:

medium.com/@AlexandraTara…

2a. “Pivot II”: also in 2018, view of Putin changes. In 2017, promotes Mueller, and criticism of Russian law decriminalizing domestic abuse. NOTE: claimed in 2020 she stopped supporting Putin after “learning more about domestic violence in Russia,” but knew about it *in 2017*

2a. In 2018, begins writing fiercely pro-Putin essays, one of which is first published in Russian. Later takes down essays, and in 2020 claims “I don’t support Putin at all,” BUT continues praising him and challenging Putin criticisms through *February 2020*

2a. Ms. Reade filed for bankruptcy in 2017. To be clear, there is no direct evidence she was offered financial relief for serving Russian agenda, but it could explain the contemporaneous “double pivot,” and fits GRU’s pattern of using financial leverage to "recruit.”

Final quote from House report on Russia investigation:

justsecurity.org/wp-content/upl…

2a. Again, perhaps a coincidence, but in December 2019, she tweets a question about a new Russian law that requires foreign agents to register, or face fines. Perhaps just asking, asking for a friend, but it's possible she was asking to determine if it applied to her.

2a. In case you’re not aware: Putin is currently actively interfering in the 2020 election, and his bot/troll army and propaganda outlets have attacked Biden far more than any other 2020 Dem candidate.

salemnews.com/news/fbi-direc…

Russian trolls target Biden:

nbcnews.com/politics/2020-…

Russian gov't hacked Burisma:

nytimes.com/2020/01/13/us/…

2b. Some have suggested Ms. Reade is a mentally ill woman who appeared on the Dr. Phil show, claiming Putin was her lover. Amanda Marcotte of Salon (link above) has spoken with the family of this person, and confirmed it is NOT her.

3. Candidate support: claims she originally supported Warren, moved to Sanders after Warren dropped out. This is FALSE: she tweeted her choice to vote for Bernie *two weeks before first votes were cast* and that she feared a Biden-Warren ticket *five days before* Warren exited.

3. Such views are not surprising, since she claimed in March 2020 she ONLY gets news from Sanders staffer (and notorious smear artist) @davidsirota, "or bernie supporters," or her daughter.

3b. Political motive? ~10:30PM on Super Tuesday, the very moment it was clear Biden and Sanders were the last two viable candidates, she responded to a tweet on the matchup, writing "Timing... wait for it... tic toc." 16 days later, she made her first public claim of assault.

3b. The tweet was from Ryan Grim of The Intercept, whose Katie Halper did interview with Reade's first public claim of assault. Reade *twice more* indicates political motive, saying story “disqualifies” Biden, and tweeting the Intercept interview, telling Bernie “Please stay in.”

3c. The Intercept: far-left, pro-Sanders / anti-Biden, staff includes Syrian truthers, one reporter’s pro-Putin article published in Putin's propaganda outlet, Russia Today. Smeared "establishment" Dem Gil Cisneros without checking facts.

IOW, this fits their pattern / agenda.

4. False claims: women often face unfair skepticism on assault claims, so let's compare with an allegation proven to be false. In 2018, several women accused Roy Moore of sexual assault, all providing either evidence or witnesses of inappropriate behavior. Then, Jaime Phillips...

claimed Moore impregnated her at 15. Story had inconsistencies, and her internet postings and discussions with reporters suggested a possible political motive. Turns out she was sent by the right-wing Project Veritas to prove media outlets were just "out to get" Moore.

This story was detailed in Elle Magazine:

elle.com/culture/career…

4. We have seen similar issues with Reade’s claim, including inconsistencies and contradictions, a sudden and dramatic shift of political support, strong support for the accused’s political opponent, and an apparent desire to help the latter with the timing of her claim.

4a. Some have criticized outlets like NYT for stating they didn't find any other members of Biden’s staff who claimed assault or harassment, only issues of personal space and unwanted touch, for which Biden has (rightly) been criticized. But this is important, because those...

who commit this type of assault rarely do so only once, seeing all women merely as objects for their gratification. In contrast, Biden's staff from the time describe the environment as supportive and professional, and note that Biden had no such reputation in Washington.

In short, Reade’s claim is neither proven nor disproven, but:

1. Some inconsistencies can be explained, some inconsistencies and contradictions can’t

2. Biden/Putin pivot 2017-18, possible Russian leverage

3. Supported Bernie before voting started, possible political motive

Thread Reader App @threadreaderapp ”unroll”

https://twitter.com/NoTeamsIndy/status/1250064191362347020

Here is the unrolled version:

threadreaderapp.com/thread/1250064…